In September 2007, we drove from our home in El Paso, Texas to Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico to make a visit to see the Coper Canyons. This is the description, with photos, of that trip.
Click here to go direct to the photos: Chihuahua City Photos, Divisadero & Posada Barrancas, Copper Canyon, Cerocahui
To the REAL Copper Canyon
Traveling the Copper Canyons of Northern Mexico (Las Barrancas de Cobre)
The Copper Canyons, or Barrancas de Cobre, in northern Mexico, are five or six times greater in extent than the Grand Canyon – and closer to El Paso! An extraordinary train takes you down the spine of the canyons. By far the easiest and best way to do this is to arrange your travel through an agency that is experienced in Copper Canyon travel – at least the first time. * The benefit of not doing it yourself appeared when we had to re-organize our hotel stops, as the result of the Pacific hurricane Henriette, which left a lot of mudslides on the western end of the route, and the travel agency did it for us, painlessly.
Our party of five headed for Chihuahua on a very good toll road – the only road from Juárez to Chihuahua City. Chihuahua City is about the same size as El Paso, but seems very different, partly because there is no companion city twice as large (and partly because it is a “real” Mexican city, not a border city). Our hotel was on the outskirts and easy to find – and offered the advantage of allowing you to leave your car during the week’s trip. It would also be enjoyable to stay in the inn next to the cathedral (18th century baroque) and the plaza (lots of kids, statues of Chihuahua dogs in various costumes, and four shoeshine pavilions!). The city has many good restaurants, and dining there was a pleasure.
Chihuahua City Photos
We only had an afternoon in Chihuahua city, just long enough to sample its attractions. Here you’ll see the University Cultural Center “Quinta Gameros,” a wonderful mansion built in the early 20th century that has a very romantic story, and the 18th century cathedral. While we were there, in the plaza in front of the cathedral Chihuahua paid homage to the Chihuahua dog with a parade of statues, a few of which are depicted here.
Divisadero & Posada Barrancas
This group of photos shows some of the highlights of the stop at Divisadero and Posado Barrancas, including the basketmakers in front of the hotel, the cliffside perch of the hotel, vistas of endless canyons, and the spectacular storm that passed over the canyons on our last evening.
Copper Canyon
Glimpses of the landscape seen from the train as we traveled from Posadas to El Fuerte, including the “station” at Posadas.
Cerocahui
Scenes in the village of Cerocahui and the Misión inn, and in the Urique canyon, which we visited from Cerocahui.